Many types of products may be ordered over the phone or online for delivery directly to a customer, including grocery items and other consumables. Efficient handling and shipping of consumable products may present special challenges to merchants of such products. For example, the perishable nature of many consumable products may require that items be picked from inventory very close to the time of delivery in an efficient and timely manner with minimal cost of labor.
The items for a particular order may be picked directly into totes that are then delivered to the customer, thus eliminating the time and cost of repacking the items for delivery. These picking operations are referred to as “pick-to-tote operations.” To minimize the cost of labor associated with pick-to-tote operations, a single pick-to-tote operation performed by inventory personnel may involve a number of totes to be packed with items for multiple, different orders. In addition, the items for a particular order may be picked to multiple totes in different pick-to-tote operations, depending on the storage locations or picking zones of the items in the inventory facilities of the merchant.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the disclosure made herein is presented.